22 November 2012
Immigration Alert: New Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has today laid new Immigration Rules before Parliament, the majority of which are due to come into force on 13 December 2012. Some of the changes represent a relaxation of current rules whilst others are in response to abuse.
20 November 2012
Employing migrant workers: A checklist for compliance
Supermarket giant Tesco has recently been fined £115,000 for employing foreign students who were breaking the conditions of their visas. This follows shortly after the decision by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to suspend the Tier 4 sponsor licence of the London Metropolitan University, due to the non-compliance with its sponsor licence duties.
These high profile cases along with other recently reported cases on the UKBA website clearly show that the UKBA will not hesitate to take action against employers or academic institutions, whether big or small, who fail to comply with their licence obligations.
Ilda de Sousa provides a checklist for how employers can ensure that they are compliant.
8 November 2012
Immigration Alert: Changes to the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006
On 8 November 2012 the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 will change. The amended regulations will set out the rights of EEA nationals and their family members to enter and reside in the UK and will also confirm the criteria for rights to permanent residence.
25 October 2012
Immigration Alert: Accession of Croatia to the European Union
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has announced that it is expected that Croatia will join the European Union (EU) on 1 July 2013. It has stated its commitment to applying transitional restrictions on labour market access to nationals of any future Member States of the EU as a matter of course and therefore restrictions will be applied to nationals of Croatia. On 18 October 2012 it published a Statement of Intent with regard to the transitional arrangements which are proposed governing Croatian nationals’ access to the labour market.
25 September 2012
New UKBA backlog causing economic damage - employers held to ransom
British businesses wanting to sponsor key individuals to come to the UK to help grow or develop their businesses are being thwarted by the excessive length of time it takes the UKBA to process Tier 2 sponsor registration applications at present. Businesses with the potential to lead the UK's economic recovery are facing major delays with their sponsor licence applications, meaning they cannot bring in the people they need when they need them. Plans for expansion in the UK market are having to be put on hold while the administrative process of obtaining a sponsor licence runs its ever lengthier course.